This is a VERY interesting article about an even more interesting study conducted with several parrot species and crows (both types of birds that are considered the smartest of them all) and, although as far as I can tell, is the only one that has explored the subject (why certain birds are more of an exploring nature than others), I think, when it comes to parrots, it has hit the nail on the head. Enjoy!

Well, I did not know everything they found! Some stuff I knew but it was more my personal opinion than anything that had been studied scientifically. I always knew that parrots were not really explorers in the sense that they don't usually extend or switch their territory (especially the tropical species) and that they are generally neophobic but I always thought that it was mostly determined by their species. You know... grays REALLY do not like change while quakers, on the other hand, are VERY adaptable - and I knew that babies were much more curious that adults with cockatoos never outgrowing their curiosity. I also knew that their own personality had a lot to do with the way they reacted and that the way they were treated when babies had a lot to do with how their personality developed but, again, I always thought that species genetic make-up was the foundation of how they reacted. I wish I could find out which parrot species they used - they show red-sided male eclectus on the video and they mentioned cockatoos but I would like to see a list and the results per species...